MLB Player News

Kirk is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against Atlanta.

Kirk will take a seat to begin a second consecutive game, although he did appear in Saturday's win over Atlanta while going 0-for-2. Danny Jansen will be behind the plate for the Blue Jays and hit eighth against Collin McHugh.

Haase is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Jake Rogers will catch and bat ninth, sending Haase to the bench after he started Saturday. The two are mostly splitting time behind the plate, though Haase has the added versatility of being able to play in the outfield. He's batting .273 compared to just .183 for Rogers, though Rogers has a .712 OPS versus .701 for Haase.

Higashioka went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run and a walk against the Rays in a 9-8 victory Saturday.

Higashioka drew the start behind the plate and kicked off a big Yankees comeback with his two-run shot to left field in the fifth inning. It was the third long ball of the season for the backstop, who is working as New York's No. 2 catcher behind Jose Trevino this season. Higashioka is back on the bench to begin Sunday's contest, with Trevino starting and batting eighth.

Rogers is starting at catcher and batting ninth in Sunday's game against the Mariners.

After sitting out Saturday, Rogers will return to the lineup Sunday, bumping Eric Haase to the bench. The two are mostly splitting time behind the plate, though Haase is also seeing time in the outfield. Rogers has five home runs and a .437 slugging percentage, though he's batting just .183, so he's been pretty boom or bust.

Raleigh is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against Detroit.

Raleigh continues to not see consistent playing time against left-handers, and he'll take a rest against Joey Wentz and the Tigers for the series finale. Tom Murphy will handle catching duties and hit fifth against Wentz on Sunday.

Rutschman is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Rutschman currently has a modest four-game hit streak during which he's gone 6-for-13 with two home runs, four walks, four RBI and four runs, but he'll take a seat for Sunday's series finale versus Pittsburgh. James McCann will step in behind the plate for Baltimore.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday in a loss to the Brewers.

After sitting out Friday due to blurred vision, Perez was back behind the plate Saturday. The backstop appeared to be past the vision issue, as he collected a pair of hits, including a solo homer in the fifth inning. Perez is up to eight long balls on the campaign, second-most among MLB backstops.

Rutschman went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in a 2-0 win against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Offense was sparse in the contest, and Rutschman was the only player on either team to notch multiple hits. His first-inning solo homer to center field was all Baltimore would end up needing to pull out the victory. Rutschman has a modest four-game hitting streak going, during which he has gone 6-for-13 with a pair of homers, four walks and four RBI.

Wallach (concussion) is feeling much better and is on track to return Monday against the Orioles, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Wallach was placed on the 7-day injured list Tuesday, but thankfully his concussion appears to be a minor one. His return will presumably push Chris Okey back to the minors.

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol told reporters that Grandal (hamstring) could return to the lineup Sunday against the Astros after being scratched from the lineup Saturday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

"Better to be safe, yeah," Grifol said. "Especially with the off day on Monday. We'll reassess it tomorrow. If he can play [Sunday], I might put him in there. If not we'll give him the extra 48 hours so he can be ready to go on Tuesday." Grandal hurt his hamstring Thursday and sat out Friday's contest, and while he was originally in the lineup Saturday against Houston, the White Sox exercised additional caution with the late scratch. In order to take advantage of Monday's team off day, there's a strong chance Grandal won't be back in the lineup for Sunday's contest.